After three decades, Idios is no more

After 32 years of being a safe haven to what founding member Mr Andy de Beer used to call the wingless, Idios Refugee Camp in Kiepersol is on the brink of complete closure.

This follows De Beer’s death on December 19, at the age of 79. He was involved in a head-on collision with a truck on the R40 just outside Hazyview the month before. His son Theo, who the community has labelled as unsympathetic for not continuing with his father’s legacy, explained that when Idios started 32 years ago, an agreement was made between his father and the owner of the farm. It stated that as long as Andy and his wife Nan live, they can serve the community on this farm.

“This agreement expired when my father died and it left us with no choice but to close Idios and contrary to popular belief, no one was chased off the farm,” he explained.

“Andy de Beer was Idios and without him it will never be the same. Even though I cannot follow in his footsteps, I have continued his legacy which was to help people find jobs before letting them go,” he said.

“I can assure you that many of them have already found jobs and it’s going well, with the exception of two couples who are still staying on the farm,” he said.

He further explained that despite the above-mentioned agreement expiring, supplies which was provided by sponsors, as well as donations had started to dry up. Within the next month, everything that my parents built up will be broken down after which the farm will be used for farming.

“Over 2 000 have come and gone and were part of my parents’ lives. With every person we have to say goodbye to, comes emotions that are impossible to explain,” he said.